Macana

{{short description|Type of weapon of Indigenous origin}} {{for|the palm tree commonly known as Macana|Wettinia kalbreyeri}} {{Expand Spanish|topic=cult|date=December 2019}} [[File:Macana del Amazonas. Museo de América 01.jpg|thumb|Macana club used by Indigenous Amazonians]] The term '''macana''', of Taíno origin, refers to various wooden weapons used by the various Indigenous cultures of Central and South America. These weapons were referred to as a hadzab or hats'ab in Yucatecan Mayan.<ref name=":0">{{Cite journal |last=Rice |first=Prudence M. |date=2022-10-02 |title=Macanas in the Postclassic Maya Lowlands? A Preliminary Look |url=https://doi.org/10.1080/01977261.2022.2064126 |journal=Lithic Technology |volume=47 |issue=4 |pages=314–327 |doi=10.1080/01977261.2022.2064126 |s2cid=248207015 |issn=0197-7261|url-access=subscription }}</ref>

== Meaning and origin == The earliest meaning attributed to ''macana'' is a sword-like weapon made out of wood, but still sharp enough to be dangerous.<ref>Peter Martyr d'Anghiera, ''Decades de Orbe Novo'' (written in the early 16th century): * {{lang|la|Cominus hi certant vt plurimum, ensibus oblongis, quos macanas ipsi appellant, ligneis tamen, quia ferrum non assequuntur...}} : "In hand to hand combat they generally use long swords, which they call ''macanas'', which are however made of wood, as they don't have knowledge of iron." (p. 127) * {{lang|la|armatum ... arcubus putà & sagittis, machanísque, id est, ensibus amplis, ligneis, oblongis, vtráque manu agitandis...}} : "...armed ... for example with bows and arrows, ''and macanas''—that is, with large, wooden, long swords which are wielded two-handedly" (p. 180)</ref> The term is also sometimes applied to the similar Aztec weapon, which is studded with pieces of obsidian in order to create a blade, though some authorities distinguish this item by using the Nahuatl name {{lang|nci|macuahuitl}}.

In the Andes, the Spanish conquistadors applied the term "macana" to the several blunt, mace-like weapons at the disposal of the Inca army's arsenal, particularly to the ''Chaska chuqui'' (lit. star spear) and the ''Chambi'' (mace) weapons which consisted of a wooden shaft with a heavy metal (copper or bronze) or stone object at the end. As its name suggests, the ''Chaska chuqui'' tip was in a star shape to maximize the potential to break bone. They were the most common weapon in the Inca arsenal, and it is possible that gold or silver was used for the star for high-ranking officers.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Rowe |first=John Howland |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=OFR6AAAAMAAJ&pg=PA276 |title=Inca Culture at the Time of the Spanish Conquest |date=1946 |publisher=U.S. Government Printing Office |language=en}}</ref>

In modern Spanish the word has broadened to refer to various types of blunt wooden weapons, especially a police nightstick, with a shape very similar to Okinawan tonfas.

== Uses == The sizes of macanas are thought to have varied significantly, depending on the application. Most were about one meter long, though other macana varieties were larger.<ref name=":1">{{Cite book |author=Pohl, John M. D. (1951- ). |url=http://worldcat.org/oclc/1088972531 |title=Aztec warrior AD 1325-1521 |date=2001 |publisher=Osprey Publishing |isbn=1-84176-148-6 |oclc=1088972531}}</ref> Diversity in macana size likely arose due to various factors, including battle strategy, combatant status or position in the military hierarchy, ethnopolitical group, or environmental factors such as availability of chulul wood.<ref name=":0" /> The most dominant iterations of macanas appear to be broad, flat wooden shafts with grooved edges flanked with obsidian blades held in place by resin or another mastic.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Obregón |first=Marco Antonio Cervera |date=October 2006 |title=The''macuahuitl'': an innovative weapon of the Late Post-Classic in Mesoamerica |url=http://dx.doi.org/10.1179/174962606x136892 |journal=Arms & Armour |volume=3 |issue=2 |pages=127–148 |doi=10.1179/174962606x136892 |s2cid=110602781 |issn=1741-6124|url-access=subscription }}</ref> Macana makers may have made their segments shorter to produce more of them per blade from this non-local resource, especially if obsidian grew increasingly scarce.<ref name=":0" /> The obsidian was imported into the lowlands from highland sources in Guatemala and Mexico, probably as preformed polyhedral cores.<ref>{{Cite book |author=Yacubic, Matthew Patrick |url=http://worldcat.org/oclc/891667674 |title=Community crafting and crafting community : the lithic artifacts of Zacpeten, Guatemala |year=2014 |isbn=978-1-321-08885-4 |oclc=891667674}}</ref>

One-handed use of macanas enables the user to hold a shield in the free hand while larger macana species typically necessitates two hands.<ref name=":1" /> Spanish reports during early battles with the Maya described their opponents' armaments included "[s]words that appeared to be two-handed ones"<ref name="Díaz del Castillo, Bernal, 1974">{{Cite book |author=Díaz del Castillo, Bernal |url=http://worldcat.org/oclc/643804697 |title=Historia verdadera de la conquista de la Nueva España |date=1974 |publisher=Editorial Porrúa |oclc=643804697}}</ref> and "two-handed swords of very strong wood [studded with] obsidian."<ref name="Díaz del Castillo, Bernal, 1974"/> alt=Chaska chuqui|thumb|Inca macana

== Archeological remains == Many of the obsidian shards used for macanas were prismatic blade segments, which are among the most abundant lithics at late sites in the Maya lowlands.<ref name=":0" /> Archeology in sites with macana remains has revealed that some sites, particularly those with large numbers of segments, had bimodal – smaller (ca. 8–10mm) and larger (ca. 20–24 +) – length distributions. This supports the possibility of two sizes of macanas.<ref name=":0" />

== Notes == {{reflist}}

== External links == {{commons category|Macanas}} * [http://www.mexico-france.com/codices_esp.html Pictures] from the Codex Ixtlilxochitl featuring the ''macuahuitl''. (Spanish)

Category:Taíno Category:Aztec warfare Category:Mesoamerican military equipment Category:Blunt weapons